Forever Tied
by hiraikoneko
Summary: Many people will tell you Akiko is an oddity. They're right. Yet she somehow manages to pull the most broken people back together, and gather them all up into a mess she calls a 'family'. But she isn't just after 'family'...she's after the future. If her nightmares are of the future...then it's a future she needs to change. 'She' would have wanted it that way. SI OC
1. Prologue

_**So, I've decided to rewrite Forever Family, and here's the result. The first chapter is the same as it was in the original, but come chapter two, I can promise you things will be glaringly different.**_

 _ **Anyway, I own nothing but my OCs, the rest belongs to Masashi Kishimoto~!**_

* * *

 **Prologue**

 **(Himawari's POV)**

I was so tired. She always cried. Two and a half years and my poor baby still awoke every night and wept for reasons she could not even understand yet.

As I sat across from my good friend Mikoto and my brother in law, I could hear her clumsy little feet making their way towards me. My little Akiko stumbled in. She was so small. Just a delicate little thing. I blamed myself and her father for it.

Standing up, I scooped my daughter up in my arms, quietly soothing her as she cried and muttered terrified words in my ear. She was a smart little thing, although it was to be expected, and she picked up the language when she was very young.

"Why? Why he do it?"

Feeling eyes on me, I looked over my shoulder. Mikoto looked on in adoration, but concern was clear on her face as well. She loved my daughter just as much as I did. Fugaku on the other hand looked quite unamused. He was annoyed.

I tried not to show my dislike for the man. I had never liked him. Even when we were academy students I still thought his ego was too much for him. I was just glad I hadn't been in the same class as him for most of it. We hadn't been in the same room until a month or so before the graduation exam.

The toddler in my arms recaptured my attention as she nuzzled into my shoulder and gripped me tightly. She continued babbling, but everyone could hear her words even as they faded in and out of audibility.

"Ita'...why Ita'...bloo...stop. Ita' stop..."

"Shush." I cooed to her, rocking the rambling toddler to sleep, "It was just another dream...go to sleep Akiko."

After a few minutes of this, she slowly faded back to sleep.

I turned to the people in the room and became serious. I was hear for a reason, besides letting Akiko-chan play with Sasuke-kun.

"Fugaku-san, Mikoto-san...would you do us the honour of being Akiko's god-parents? I would understand if you said no."

Mikoto stared at me in pure delight. Her onyx eyes lit up and a rather un-Uchiha like grin found its way to her face. I could understand. She had two sons, but Mikoto had always wanted a daughter as well. She wanted someone she could be a girl with. She already did that with Akiko.

My little girl was nothing short of an angel, despite the nightmares. I was scared she would become traumatized in the end, but for now, she was always happy. In the morning, I knew she would give me a brilliant smile and giggle happily.

Mikoto took care of Akiko from time to time, and she knew just how good my daughter was. And the boys loved her just as much. She was the sister they never had, although she was close enough already. She was their cousin. But only by law.

It seemed like everyone knew that my little girl was not an Uchiha by blood. It was rather obvious, if the chocolate brown eyes and the orange hair were anything to go by. It certainly didn't help that I was blond and blue eyes, and most Uchiha were black eyed and black haired. It was clear she wasn't my late husband's daughter.

I watched Mikoto look hopefully at her husband. My brother in law tried to remain stern, but if there was one thing that could make him change his mind, it was when Mikoto looked so happy and hopeful about something.

Fugaku did not approve of me, or my daughter. I wasn't an Uchiha by blood, and neither was my little girl. It was only his reputation that stopped him from kicking us out. I knew that, but I hoped over time he would grow to love my daughter. She deserved only the best...and there was no way I could honestly say the Uchiha clan weren't the best at many things. Not everything, but quite a few things.

But Fugaku also had the clan to think about. While a small few knew me and got along with me, I knew a large portion would disapprove of him taking her in, should anything happen to me.

His eyes were flickering from me to Akiko and to his wife, who was giving him a pleading look even the Hokage himself would be hard pressed not to give into. I could see the gears working in his mind. Mikoto wanted my daughter, and my little one had promise. She was half Saisei after all. Her blood was good, and it almost always promised good results.

As much as I hated the thought, she would be valuable to the clan.

Finally, after a few tense minutes, Fugaku shifted his eyes away from all of us and nodded once. Mikoto all but squealed in delight, and I felt my own grin appear as I hugged my daughter just a little tighter. Relief flooded through me. This was good. She would be safe, and I wouldn't have to worry about her becoming an orphan, left in the orphanage as I had been when I was seven.

I noticed Mikoto's smile drop, "Himawari-san...why are you looking for god-parents for little Akiko?"

I took a calming breath, ready to tell the secret I had kept since my pregnancy with Akiko, "My health is failing me."

Mikoto looked at me in concern, but she remained quiet so I could continue speaking. So few people knew, most of them being the ones who accompanied on the mission that changed everything for me.

"I have at least another year...year and a half. I intend to have everything ready for Aki-chan...which is why I will let you back out of this decision after I explain a few things to you."

"Why would we back out?" Mikoto asked, "We'd love to take care of her."

I shook my head, feeling my yellow hair swaying from side to side, "No...You'll think about it. I want to tell you about her nightmares."

Closing my eyes, I began to speak, and hoped that she would forgive me for lying. It was to protect my clan's greatest secret, after all.

' _I hope you're right about this._ '


	2. 1: A Nightmare Driven Child

"MAMA!" The word was screamed in a childish voice that contained nothing but pure terror. One three year old Akiko Saisei sat in her bed, hands buried in dark-reddish orange hair, with her brown eyes clamped shut in fear. She curled in on herself, her head resting between her knees, as she shook like a fallen leaf in the wind.

Akiko tried desperately to ignore the images racing through her mind. Images of giant snakes demolishing buildings and the walls wrapped around the village. She tried to ignore the dead corpses, civilian and shinobi, young and old, that littered the ground around her. She tried to ignore the beasts in the distance so large that a single sweep of their massive tails would cause entire sections of the forest that hide their village from outsiders to fall to the ground liked paper-thin domino, which stood no chance to stand in the first place.

"Make it stop...please make it stop!" The little girl gasped quietly between sobs.

She flinched as her mother's caring arms wrapped around her and she was picked up. Her mother slid onto the bed, propping herself up on the wall and rested Akiko in her lap against herself.

"Oh Akiko..." Her mother sighed as she rocked the little girl, as she had nearly every night since the girl was born, "Hush. It's alright. It's just a silly dream, that's all. Just a dream. It's okay now. It's over. Now, why don't we go to sleep? Hm?"

"I don't like sleeping..." The little girl whispered.

Her mother's arms tightened around her, "I'm sorry, Akiko. I'm so, so sorry."

"They won't stop!" The girl snapped, and despite the childish voice, all Himawari could hear was pain, "I don't wanna sleep anymore! I don't- I'm not- I'm not supposed to see dead people!"

After this outburst, the usually well spoken three year old began to sob and babble in a different language. It was one Himawari had never heard before her daughter's birth. While some passed it off as nothing more than baby-talk, Himawari knew the truth. Her daughter spoke another language. The pattern was too clear, and when her daughter was like this, too repetitive to be nothing more than baby-talk.

With a sigh, Himawari kept a tight grip on her little girl and got up, ready to start the day. It was five in the morning, but her daughter wasn't going to sleep any longer, and Himawari knew she herself wouldn't be getting any sleep at this point either. It hurt too much to think of sleeping while her little girl sat there so scared.

* * *

After the three year old was fed and dressed, and Himawari had woken up after a few sugar-filled cups of tea, the pair left the house. It was still rather early in the morning, but already people were out and about. Inside the clan compound, young Uchiha's were out training and the old were out for relaxing walks and clan meetings.

Outside the compound, stores were opening up and Ichiraku Ramen was already serving a few customers, likely ninja's home from an out of village mission. Despite how cheap the stand looked, it received lots of good business, particularly as the Hokage himself was often found there, eating with Naruto Uzumaki.

"What're we doing today?" Akiko asked her mother as she tightly gripped her mother's hand. Brown eyes jumped from one object to the next, from person to person. Every fiber of the little girl was tense and ready for some form of attack or other.

"First we have to get some food, and then I was thinking we might go to the toy store or something...maybe the park after that. I also heard Itachi-kun's back from his mission, so you could also spend some time with him, if you'd like." Himawari listed off.

Without her job as a shinobi, Himawari had far too much time. It was better this way though, as she could now spend all the extra time doting on her daughter, who, after the nightmares she suffered from, deserved to be spoiled rotten.

And a sure fire way to spoil her was to let her visit her older 'cousin'. She worshiped the boy, and he seemed to enjoy spoiling her as well. There was an odd comradery between the two, and when they thought Himawari was not there listening, she could hear their discussions. Peace, technical theory, Sasuke, dango...the future.

The trip to the market was short, and little happened. Akiko nearly glued herself to her mother in an attempt to stay away from the people around them and stay with her mother, and Himawari merely explained away this behaviour as 'she's very shy' whenever someone asked if Akiko was alright. After getting all the necessary supplies for the week ahead, Himawari was quite glad for her previous work as a shinobi. It meant she was strong enough to carry the groceries and graceful enough to walk smoothly with Akiko clinging to her leg without tripping over the girl.

"Alright Akiko-chan, why don't we go get you a new stuffed animal?" Himawari asked her daughter. After a moment, Akiko detached herself and stepped away from her mother, towards the toy store. With a smile, Himawari followed the three year old in.

Akiko didn't waste a second and made her way towards the stuffed animals. She disliked dolls and how they were all stupidly pretty, and she definitely hated the ninja toys.

While the three year old was aware that the world was a dangerous place and she was likely to be in danger if she didn't become one, she was still scared of the shinobi lifestyle. Her nightmares had shown her too many horrible deaths for her to want to be one, even if her mother, father, cousins and a number of the people she knew were ninjas. It just...scared her too much.

The shelf was overflowing with stuffed animals. There were different sizes and colours, and all kinds of different animals to choose from. As she skimmed the variety, one caught her eyes. It was a little red fox.

 _'I want it._ ' She thought to herself. She liked the fox. Actually, she liked foxes in general. It had always confused her why people reacted to negatively. She had once seen one of the clan members shoot a fireball at one that managed to get into the compound. She knew about the demon fox that attacked the village three years ago, only a few short days after her birthday, but she didn't understand why anything that related to the fox was bad. That just wasn't right.

It was discrimination.

Was there a word for racism towards foxes?

No. Probably not.

Perhaps she would make one someday. Foxism? No. That sounded like a religion. And it was one that would likely result in painful death around Konoha.

Shaking her head, she walked up to her mother, "I want this one."

Himawari only paused for a moment, surprised to see the toy fox, but it was gone a moment later. She remembered the night of the attack. It was three days after Akiko's birth, and Takashi, her husband, had been sent out to try and hold off the beast, while Himawari, still recovering from the difficult labour, had been sent with her daughter to the war shelter.

Takashi wasn't Akiko's father by blood, but in the few short days he had known the girl, he had taken her as his own. It had made Himawari so happy to know he loved that little girl, even if she was the child of an enemy. But for as long as she had known Takashi, he had always been like that.

"If you're sure."

"I am." Akiko said, and she lifted her head to give her mother a bright smile.

"What'll you call it?"

"Kyuu-kun."

Again, Akiko's mother stared at the girl, before she let out a quiet sigh, "Fine honey, but don't let anyone else know Kyuu-kun's name, alright?"

"Yes, Mama." The three year old chimed happily.

The toy was bought and the pair left the shop. As they left, a man bumped into Himawari.

"Oh, I'm so sorry about that!" Himawari apologized with a concerned smile, "Are you alright?"

"Of course, I should have been looking out." The man said, before he left. Himawari shook her head and reached down the grab Akiko's hand, only for her to discover her three year old was gone.

* * *

Akiko stood at the fence by the park, staring at the blond boy on the swing. Her mind was full of scattered fragments of memories from her nightmares. She wanted to scream and cry and hug the boy all at the same time, but she also knew all three of those things were socially unacceptable. She was an Uchiha, and Uchiha didn't cry in public. Nor did they scream bloody murder.

When an Uchiha got stabbed, they were meant to merely grunt if they had to.

Apparently.

And hugging the blond boy, whom everyone was foxist to, was not allowed either.

 _ **He'll suffer.**_

Akiko knew this. She saw it in her dreams. He was like some of the other people she passed on the street. They were people she'd seen die, or lose loved ones, or take lives themselves. This boy...

She could feel something in her pull towards him. She wanted him to smile. She wanted him to know who she was and to know she supported him. To know she cared.

With a determined nod, she entered the park, ignoring the frantic calls of her mother. The woman was an ex-kunoichi.

She'd find Akiko sooner or later.

She stood in front of the boy, who sat on one of the swings by himself. He was around her age, and from what she understood, he wasn't supposed to be out and about, all by himself. It was dangerous for children their age, especially him, to be alone.

Although, she supposed it wasn't likely that he was alone. Some part of her swore that he was being watched over by the masked men. Or course, whether it was safe or not all depended on which masked men it was that was watching him.

Were they the servants of the monkey high, high up in the tree, or were they the broken who were ensnared by the man in the roots? Did they work for the silver-lined clouds...or did they only answer to the one with the red stones?

A frown tugged on the corners of the little girl's lips as she continued thinking, but she quickly wipe it away, focusing on the blond boy.

Blue eyes, wide and full of distrust rested on her, narrowing as they stared at her.

"Whaddya want?"

Again, Akiko frowned. Kids their age weren't supposed to sound that guarded.

"Do you wanna play with me?" The question was greeted by a sudden hush. Everyone had stopped talking. Adults and children alike stared openly at te little girl standing in front of the blond boy. He was smaller than she was, dressed in raggedy clothes and he looked underfed.

What kind of threat did he pose to anyone?

"What?!"

"Do you want to play with me?"

"You're just askin' me that so you can play a trick on me!"

Brown eyes widened for a brief moment, "Why would I do that?"

"Everyone does! Everyone hates me. You don't wanna play with me..."

The little red-head crossed her arms and took up a confident stance. An annoyed look settled on her face and she locked her brown eyes with his blue.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" She questioned him. Her tone was quiet, but the boy still flinched at the seriousness in it, "You can't go making decisions or motives up for me! I decided I wanted to play with you because I wanna play. If I was going to play a prank I'd play it on someone I knew deserved it. I'm not a bully."

The blond boy shifted slightly, looking embarrassed, but still uncertain of the girl.

"My name is Akiko Saisei, who're you?"

"M-me? I'm...I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

The girl could tell that this was the start of something beautiful.

"A pleasure to meet you, Naruto Uzumaki." She smiled brightly at the blond.

Naruto gave a timid smile in response and let the girl take his hand. He noticed there was something...different about this girl. She felt different from other people.

He tried to think of what it was. Maybe it was because she was so nice? But then again, Jiji was nice, and he didn't feel like that. It wasn't because she was offering to play with him. Other kids used to do that, but they'd either hurt him in the end, or their parents would come and tell them to stop playing with him...and then they'd never talk again. It definitely wasn't that.

Maybe it was because she looked so scared? She wasn't scared of him, but she was scared of something. Naruto could relate to that...he was scared a lot of the time too. Was she like him? Did people chase her out of stores, and did other kids bully her? Did adults chase her down the streets, throwing things and yelling bad words?

Was she lonely too?

Maybe that's why she looked so sad too?

"What do you wanna play?" Akiko asked, snapping Naruto from his thoughts.

"Um...I dunno...what do you wanna play?"

"Oh...Um...let's play tag!" She said, still smiling as she dropped his hand.

"Tag?" He looked down, embarrassed, "How do you play that?"

Akiko blinked. He didn't know what tag was?

 _What do they teach kids these days?_

"Well, one person is 'It', and they chase the person, or people, who aren't 'It'. When the 'It' person catches you, they become 'not-It', and you become 'It'."

"Oh!"

"Yeah. I'll be 'It' first, you just have to run away, okay?"

Naruto was about to agree, but paused. "Wait...you're not gonna trick me, are you?"

Akiko frowned, "What do you mean?"

"How do I know you're not gonna just leave?"

"I already told you, dumb-dumb. I'm not a bully. I like you."

"Why?"

With a deadpan expression, Akiko replied, "You have pretty eyes."

While this was true, it wasn't really the reason she liked him...but she could hardly just say 'Hey, I have nightmares of people you care about dying in the future, while people continue to look down on you and ridicule you, even while you try to save our lives.'

Yeah...not gonna happen.

"What?!"

Akiko gave him a small, honest smile, "Trust me. Please. Just wanna be your friend."

"Fine-"

"Akiko!"

At the sound of Himawari's voice, both children flinched. Naruto ducked behind the girl, even though she was too close to his size for it to be effective.

The girl tilted her head up at her mother who had appeared before her in a whirl of chakra clouds.

"Mama."Akiko shifted slightly to stand completely in front of the little boy, her arms crossed and a firm set in her jaw.

"Where did you disappear to? I was so worried, I thought something had-"

Himawari's blue eyes widened at the sight of the blond boy cowering behind her daughter. Himawari looked down into Akiko's eyes and nearly froze at the frigid look in the child's eyes. There was something guarded and judging hidden in there.

After a moment, Himawari seemed to deflate. So, this was her decision? Himawari would have to stand by her then. It was her job.

It wasn't that Himawari hated the boy. She could never. He was Minato's son. He was Kushina's son. Hating him would...would be like hating her own child.

It was fear that made Himawari wary around the boy. It was fear of that fox. She had seen much in her existence, but she would never see anything like the demon fox that attacked their village. That decimated their population, killed her comrades, her last living family, her husband.

It was not hate but fear. She was terrified at the thought of the fox returning, breaking free from its prison inside that little boy...sealed up tight, at the cost of his parents' lives.

The mother supposed it would have been easier if Akiko did not look to determined. It would be easy to pretend to hate the boy and move on...forget about her guilt at not taking him in because of her own cowardice.

Now, however, whatever she did next, she knew she'd have to think hard about it, because the look in her child's eyes told her she was being judged...her every action weighed.

To think, a trained kunoichi such as herself, feeling nervous because her own daughter was giving her a look.

 _He_ would likely be laughing at her, at this very moment.

"Oh? Akiko-chan...who's your new friend?"

And just like that, the look was gone. Instead, her little girl was back, warm brown eyes filled to the brim with childish delight, despite the horrors she saw. But still, something determined lingered in her eyes.

Himawari let out a relieved sigh.

Mirroring her, Akiko let out her own sigh. It was safe. She had been worried her mother would turn out to be cruel to him...like all the other adults. Knowing her mother would be kind...it assured her that what she was about to say would be alright. It would work out.

She would do anything to stop the nightmares. She needed to stop the nightmares. And for that, she needed Naruto...who needed her.

"This is Naruto Uzumaki," Akiko replied, gesturing to the boy hiding behind her, " and I've decided to adopt him."

* * *

 ** _And there we have the second (first...?_** ** _) chapter of Forever Tied, the rewrite of Forever Family! As you can see, the difference between the two stories, and more specifically Akiko, are pretty obvious...I think? Ah...whatever. I have big hopes for the rewrite._**

 ** _The original wasn't very well thought out in the beginning...since i basically started this fic to pass time, and see if I could write a Naruto fic._**

 ** _I'm hoping this fic becomes just as popular as my other fic, Demon Eyes someday, but until then, I'd love it if you all continue to show your support!_**

 ** _Big thanks to BloodyCamellia, Sparksofrandomness, kuromiin and SilentKiller123 for reviewing!_**

 ** _Forever Tied has: 4 Reviews, 40 Favourites, 76 Followers, 1 Community!_**

Love ya guys!


	3. 2: Fear Not

Akiko did well to hide her amusement and keep herself from laughing. Her Mama just looked so, so startled. It was such a change from the odd expressions dancing across her face just moments before. Guilt, understanding, sadness, fear, anger, apprehension. To see all those complicated emotions give way to shock...it was wonderful.

"Akiko-chan...you- children-" Himawari paused, took a breath and continued, "Akiko, a child can't adopt another child...not unless it's under certain circumstances."

The little girl pouted, "Oh."

From behind her, Akiko could hear Naruto making all kinds of strange, confused noises. She honestly didn't understand why they were so surprised by the suggestion. Naruto was an orphan. People adopted orphans. It was why there were orphanages and adoption papers.

After a moment, the pout was gone and Akiko did her best to put on her 'most cheerful, happiest grin ever'. It was actually a bit painful. She wasn't sure cheeks were supposed to stretch that much. However, this was a moment that called for such a painfully happy expression.

With all the confidence a chronically-sleep deprived three year old could possess, Akiko looked to her mother and said, "Then you can adopt him."

Himawari stared at her daughter with worried blue eyes. Her skin paled ever so slightly, making the bright red markings over her eyes stand out even more than they did. What was she thinking? Adopt...Uzumaki Naruto?

The woman sat down on the ground, setting the shopping bags off to the side. She and her daughter were vaguely aware of people all around the park were staring and whispering.

Akiko's eyes were narrow brown slits. She could hear them. She didn't like them. The mean things they whispered about her mother and about Naruto, weren't right, or kind, or fair. Why did they have to say those things? Couldn't people find it in themselves to be quiet about their hatefulness?

The mother sighed, not even giving the people around them a second thought. Her mind was occupied with the current problem. Adopting Naruto. This...wasn't going to be easy.

"Are...Are you sure?"

There wasn't even a second of hesitation, not that either Saisei expected there to be, "Of course."

Himawari gained a far-away look in her eyes. She'd have to see Lord Third...guilt trip him into letting her have the boy...convince him it wasn't the machinations of the clan. Her stomach turned at the thought of speaking to Fugaku about this. Her brother-in-law wouldn't be pleased.

The clan had already suffered enough thanks to the fox. They were blamed for the attack. If she brought the fox's 'keeper' into the clan, the council would accuse the clan of trying to use the boy. In reality, the council wanted to use him themselves...but they'd be even angrier if he was with the Uchiha...never mind that if something happened and he lost control, the Uchiha were the best equipped to handle the situation-

Actually. That sounded really good.

She could use the obvious dislike her clan had for her, but still point out that the Uchiha were best at keeping the rest of Konoha safe...right? And if she used some of the wait her family name still held-

As her thoughts raced on how best to go about adopting the host of the Nine-Tailed Fox, the two children turned back to one another,

"U-um...Akiko...?" Naruto whispered quietly, "What's happening?"

"Oh!" she blinked as she turned to look at him, "We're adopting you."

He furrowed his brows and scrunched up his nose, "Why?"

"I dunno...Because you should be adopted? Because I want you to be my brother?" the girl shrugged her shoulders. She wasn't going to explain the dreams.

"B-but...I'm...a monst-"

"No you're not!" Akiko snapped, giving him a horrified expression of disbelief. How could he say that about himself? He was Uzumaki Naruto!

Uzumaki Naruto is the farthest thing from a monster.

Her mind suddenly felt full. Memories of dreams rose up. Images of a boy giving that sunny-lie of a grin. Saving lives. Fighting bad guys. Protecting his loved ones. Declaring he'd protect a village full of people who deserved nothing but his hate.

A little blond boy on a swing set-

"But that's what all the grown-ups say." the boy told her, looking so lost and confused in that moment. Like he couldn't fathom that maybe they were all wrong, and that someone out there didn't see him that way.

Akiko lunged forward, wrapping her arms around him. Her mind was full of panicked thoughts she didn't understand. Then, as quickly as the flood of memories came, they sank back down into the depths of her mind, leaving with a strange sort of pride for the boy and anger at the nameless population of Konoha.

He was tense in her grip, not sure what to do. Of course, he'd seen people do this all the time. It was called a 'hug'. He'd gotten one or two from Jiji, but those never lasted long, and he never really knew what to do. He was supposed to wrap his arms around the other person in the hug right?

Hesitantly, he returned the hug.

Eventually, Akiko pulled back from the hug slightly, but stayed close enough to the boy that it didn't matter if she wasn't actively hugging him, since she might as well have been.

Himawari shifted, bringing their attention back to the woman. She turned her gaze to Naruto, "My name is Saisei-Uchiha Himawari...and I'll be your mother from now on."

The children stared at her in silence. Akiko was beaming, and didn't feel the need to speak. Naruto, on the other hand, was staring in wide-eyed disbelief. Someone actually wanted him? Not just another kid, but an actual adult who wasn't Jiji wanted to adopt him?

After a moment, both children are scooped up into a pair of deceptively delicate arms. Himawari grins down at the two children in her arms.

"Well. Let's get going," Himawari had a little skip in her step as she started moving. Behind her, an earth-clone picked up the shopping bags, trailing along after the three.

"Where?" Akiko questioned.

The blue eyed woman spoke loudly, not only to tell her daughter where they were going, but to make sure the ANBU hiding from view would know that she wasn't just kidnapping the boy off the street.

"If we're going to be adopting Naruto-kun, we'll have to go speak with the Hokage, but that could take a while. So we'll be getting some lunch first, so you two don't get hungry."

Mind you, she should have just run off with the boy. It would teach those lazy morons a thing or two about childcare. Honestly, letting the boy wander around town where anything could happen if they didn't step in fast enough. He was three years old! Kids that age need CONSTANT supervision.

"Lunch!" Akiko cheered. She squirmed in her mother's grasp, making the woman stop and set the children down. Akiko grabbed hold of her mother's fingers with one hand, and grabbed Naruto's hand with the other, to make sure neither of them got lost.

Naruto stared down at the hand holding his own, before looking around them. Like he was expecting this all to be some kind of trap.

Akiko supposed she should have expected this. Naruto wasn't lucky like Akiko was. She had a Mama who loved her very much, and an Aunt and cousins who were just as protective. Naruto wasn't used to having a family. He didn't know what it was like to have a sibling or a mother.

She'd teach him though. Siblings were amazing. They would kill for one another. Nothing could come in between them! Akiko was going to be the best sister in the universe.

Of course, Akiko was aware that she was...different from other children her age...or at least, different from Sasuke and Naruto. She was a bit like Itachi. Old inside. Or at least that's what it felt like to her. It was hard to stay innocent when people died every time you went to sleep.

So...the three year old figured she'd have to be the Itachi to Naruto's Sasuke.

Or something like that.

Why did that thought make her feel all cold inside?

She shook her head, casting her thoughts to better things. Like lunch.

With a strength unexpected from such a tiny girl, Akiko dragged her mother and soon-to-be-brother down the street. She knew of this fantastic ramen place her mother had taken her to once. And then again. And again andagainandagain...their ramen was really good.

Naruto liked ramen.

Or at least...he looked like the kind of person who likes ramen.

Akiko would know. She was an expert on ramen. She loved the stuff, and her mama seemed to enjoy it as well, so it wasn't like she was a stranger to the heavenly food.

"Ramen, ramen. Ramen~!" Akiko said in a sing-song voice as she continued to tug the two along. It was partly to let her Mama know where they were going, but also to express her undying love to ramen.

"Alright, alright, Akiko. We'll get some ramen. And then visit the Hokage."

As the little girl nodded enthusiastically, the boy tilted his head in question, "Um...Akiko-chan...What's ramen?"

She was completely delighted to hear him call her 'Akiko-chan'...it meant he didn't feel like he had to be formal with her or anything! That was great. And soon? She'd get him to call her his sister.

Her brow furrowed when another thought hit her after he spoke. What had that last thing he'd said been? Something about… 'What's ramen?'

"Oh here we go." Himawari muttered to herself quietly as she watched Akiko grin, wrapping an arm around her 'brother's' shoulders.

"Well you see, dear brother...Ramen...is the food of the Gods."

Himawari let out a very unladylike snort, quickly covering her mouth with her free hand. It was just like Kushi-

Ah. Best not think about that. It was hard enough looking down at the two of them as they walked a little bit ahead of her. All she could see was a girl with red hair and a boy with spiky blond locks. The fact that the red head was ranting about ramen just made it- It hurt, so, so much.

Kushina was gone. Minato was gone. So many people were gone, and they left gaping holes in Himawari's heart. She couldn't find them no matter how hard she searched.

Somewhere in the back of Himawari's mind, a voice whispered **_'Fear not, little Sun...soon you'll be able to find those bonds again.'_**

And she didn't fear. Not really. It should have scared her...but she'd known for years now that it was coming closer every day. She'd prepared for it as best she could. When she was gone, at the very least her daughter wouldn't be alone. The little girl would have enough bonds with the people around her that she'd never be alone.

* * *

 _ **Heheh...guess who finally decided to work on this again? Ah...yeah.**_

 _ **SO! This sin't as long as I planned it to be, but since its been so long since I've worked on this story, and I'm not quite used to Akiko anymore (If anyone's read my story 'Demon Eyes' you know that Akiko's very, very different from Aisako...despite the similarities they have in appearance and name).**_

 _ **I can't promise this one'll get updated as often as it should, but hopefully until I run out of the old stuff to rewrite, it'll be a bit quick?**_

 _ **Big thanks to DarkDust27, KawaiiPineapplePrincess, Lulumo, Random2Friends, belladu57, Shadowed Sorceress and Angelica7714 for reviewing!**_

 _ **Forever Tied has: 11 Reviews, 89 Favourites, 139 Followers, 2 Communities!**_


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